4 h 58 minAudiobook10 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if your fight against injustice binds you to people whose cruelty you cannot control?
In Friedrich Schiller’s tragedy The Robbers, Karl Moor longs to leave his reckless life behind and return to his wealthy father and Amalia, the woman he loves. But he believes his father has rejected him. Hurt turns to fury, and Karl joins men who live outside the law, seeking justice while becoming their robber chief.
At home, his younger brother Franz uses deception to gain their father’s power and property. He also pursues Amalia, whose loyalty to Karl resists his pressure. Scenes of broken family trust and conflict within the robber band bring the play’s central question close: can Karl oppose injustice without serving cruelty, or escape one betrayal without committing another?
What you’ll discover
- A rebel at odds Follow Karl as his hunger for justice clashes with the violence of his companions.
- Brotherhood turned against itself Watch Franz attack his father’s trust as he schemes to displace his elder brother.
- Love under pressure Meet Amalia, whose loyalty to Karl stands against Franz’s attempts to win her.
- The burden of loyalty Feel the pull of sworn bonds that give Karl strength while narrowing his choices.
- Justice without easy answers Confront the unsettling distance between a rebel’s ideals and the harm his band inflicts.
Who will love it
Readers who love fierce family drama, outlaw adventure and big speeches about freedom and justice will find plenty here. It suits anyone drawn to rebels, rival brothers and the question of what a good cause may demand.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A cunning son poisons his father's love
- Cast out by a letter, Karl takes command
- Franz stages a death and claims everything
- Fire, siege and a captain's code
- Nature, law and family ties collide
- A drama told in storms and songs
Who’s who
- Karl von MoorThe elder son of the count, warm, proud and reckless, who is cast out by a forged letter and becomes captain of a robber band.
- Franz von MoorThe younger son, cold and cunning, who resents his looks and plots to seize his father's estate and the woman his brother loves.
- Old Count Maximilian von MoorThe aging father of the two sons, loving and easily led, who is torn between tenderness for Karl and trust in Franz.
- AmaliaAn orphan raised at the castle who loves Karl faithfully and refuses to give him up, whatever Franz threatens.
- SpiegelbergA sly, boastful friend of Karl who dreams up the robber band and wants to lead it himself.
- SchweizerA blunt, loyal robber who swears himself to Karl and fights fiercely for his captain.
- HerrmannThe illegitimate son of a nobleman, bitter against Karl, who is drawn into Franz's plot and then burdened by it.
- KosinskyA young Bohemian nobleman, wronged by a minister, who asks to join the band to avenge the loss of his bride.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 4 h 58 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 10 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Die Räuber
by Friedrich Schiller · 1781
A forged letter sends Karl Moor into the Bohemian forests as a robber chief while his brother Franz schemes at home.
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In short
The Robbers is a stage play by Friedrich Schiller, written when he was a young man and first performed in 1782. It is set in Germany, in the home of old Count von Moor in Franconia and in the forests of Bohemia.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A cunning son poisons his father's love
The play opens in a hall of Moor Castle in Franconia. Old Count Maximilian von Moor is anxious for news of his elder son Karl, and his younger son Franz has a letter from a friend in Leipzig. Franz acts as though it pains him to read it aloud. The letter says that Karl has run up forty thousand ducats in debt, wounded a rival in a duel and fled the law with seven companions. As Franz's own words soon make plain, the letter is his invention.
Step by step Franz talks his father into disowning Karl. He says that love for a bad son is the very source of the old man's grief, and that a wise father lets a child learn from suffering. The count agrees to withdraw his support, begging only that his son not be driven to despair. Franz offers to write the letter himself, so that the old man's anger will not be too harsh. Once he is alone, he laughs and counts the way back as closed forever.
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What is The Robbers by Schiller about?
It is a play about two brothers. Franz tricks their father into disowning Karl, who then becomes the captain of a band of outlaws in the Bohemian forests, while Amalia stays loyal to him.
Who is Karl Moor?
Karl is the elder son of Count von Moor, a spirited and generous young man who is cast out after a forged letter. He becomes the robber captain and sees himself as an avenger of injustice.
What does Franz Moor want?
Franz wants his father's estate, his brother's place and Amalia's hand. He believes that conscience and family loyalty are tricks, and he uses lies, forged letters and hired helpers to get what he wants.
The author
Friedrich Schiller
1759–1805 · German playwright and poet
Friedrich Schiller was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. He was born in Marbach in 1759 and died in Weimar in 1805. He also lived in Jena, where he taught history at the university. His plays include The Robbers, published in 1781, and William Tell, first performed in 1804.
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